"Jackie Young this can be you in 2026": Fever fans react as Sophie Cunningham's endorsement rates shoot up $20,000 after Caitlin Clark incident

Sophie Cunningham is reaping the benefits of seemingly avenging the brutal physicality Caitlin Clark faced in Tuesday's game against the Sun. Clark got into it with multiple Sun players, mainly Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey, during that matchup. Sheldon poked her in the eye while Mabrey shoved the reigning Rookie of the Year.

With 17 seconds left in the contest and the Fever cruising to a win, Cunningham committed a flagrant foul worthy on Sheldon. While Cunningham faced severe criticism for her actions, Fever fans went ballistic, backing the marquee trade acquisition of the offseason.

Within the next 24 hours of that melee, Cunningham's social media following soared to new heights as she gained 500,000 new followers on Instagram and is now 250,000 followers shy of a million. Meanwhile, on TikTok, she's already breached the seven-figure mark.

With these developments, Cunningham's potential financial benefits were revealed as OpenSponsorship CEO Ishveen Jolly said that having more than 500,000 Instagram followers can help net $20,000 more per post. Cunningham previously charged sponsored posts, starting at $10,000.

Fever fans were pumped for Sophie Cunningham after seeing the benefits she's getting while playing next to Caitlin Clark after signing a $100,000 contract.

Here's how fans racted:

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Sophie Cunningham's agents on power of Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever

Sophie Cunningham's agents were well aware of how her stock would skyrocket among fans because of Caitlin Clark and the Fever's popularity. With 41 national TV appearances, the Fever are one of the most-watched teams this year. Their success translates into these perks for players, and her agents claimed the growth was expected, but the rate at which things happened was unprecedented.

"It’s unprecedented growth," Addison Abdo, Cunningham's representative at PRP, told Sportico. "We work with some pretty big athletes that have gone viral for some pretty big things, but this has been something that I haven’t seen before—this type of growth in this short amount of time … was very new territory."

Meanwhile, PRP client manager Will Gladson added:

"We all knew what the power of the Fever was going to be."

Cunningham has been a fan favorite, especially among Clark's fan base. She was one of the few veteran players to embrace the Fever superstar's contribution to the WNBA's growth. Her actions on Tuesday have made her even more likable to Fever fans, who are craving someone to stand up for Clark amid the brutal treatment she receives from her counterparts.

Edited by Arhaan Raje